Ask Dr. Young - February 2016

Q: In your CD series, Growing Stronger, you say that real belief leads to trust. What do you mean?

A: In the original Greek language of the New Testament, the word for believe is much fuller than our English word. It incorporates both belief and trust. In John 6:69, Peter declared, “We have believed and have come to know that You are the Holy One of God.” This means that Peter entered into a state of belief.

That is what belief does. It brings us to a place where we enter into something – a relationship, an experience – and it changes us. For example, if you believe the cable on a zip line will hold you, then you will act on that trust by entering into the belief and jumping from the platform. You must act and trust.

So to become a Christian is more than just believing a set of doctrines, or believing who Jesus is and what He did. We believe in Jesus (the facts about Him), but then we trust Him and enter into a relationship with Him. We believe into Him, and believing into Him brings us into a new life.

Q: So we’ve believed into Jesus, but how do we live the new life?

A: We have begun with Him. Now we grow into maturity by being in Him, seeking Him, and leaning on Him in all the experiences of life.

A tree lives and grows when it’s deeply rooted in the ground. A fish lives and grows when it’s immersed in water. If we want to live and grow, this happens when we are rooted and immersed in our relationship with God.